In the early hours of May 21, 2004, Carl McCalla was found with gunshot wounds near 99 Riggs Road NE in Washington, D.C., at about 3:00 a.m. He did not die immediately but spent nearly four months battling complications from those injuries. McCalla died on Saturday, September 11, 2004; his death was classified as a homicide and investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

An obituary in The Washington Post described McCalla as the son of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin McCalla and the father of Chelsi and Zachary. It named his grandmother Kelia Levien, brothers Junior and Trevor, sister Denise McCalla-Creary, and his fiancée Princess Knight. A funeral service was held Tuesday, September 21, 2004, at Reed Temple in Lanham, Maryland.

The Metropolitan Police Department has asked the public for help with information about the shooting and no arrests have been announced. If anyone knew Carl or has information about the May 21 attack, please come forward.